How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want maximum playtime, an open-ear fit that keeps you aware of traffic and announcements, and a slim charging case with a live battery readout, choose Hendari Open Ear; if you need a neckband you can hang around your neck between calls, in-ear tips that seal out background noise, and a retractable cord you can pull to the exact length you like, choose Tyxmere 5.3.
• Hendari Open Ear — biggest strength: A true open-ear, on-ear design with earhooks that leaves your ear canal unsealed, plus a claimed 75 hours of total playtime and an LED case that shows remaining power.
• Hendari Open Ear — biggest trade-off: The open fit means no passive noise blocking, so loud gyms or busy streets will compete with your audio, and the touch controls can be fiddly with sweaty fingers.
• Tyxmere 5.3 — biggest strength: A lightweight neckband with retractable earbuds, CVC 8.0 noise cancelling for calls, and vibration alerts so you don't miss an incoming call even with the tips out of your ears.
• Tyxmere 5.3 — biggest trade-off: Battery life is far shorter than the Hendari's, and the in-ear tips seal your canal, which some people find less hygienic and less comfortable over long sessions.
• Who Hendari is for: Runners, walkers and commuters who want to hear their surroundings and rarely want to think about charging.
• Who Tyxmere is for: People who take a lot of calls, want a set that lives around their neck, and prefer sealed in-ear sound.
The Hendari Open Ear is built around a single idea: don't plug the ear canal. The earpieces sit over the ear with earhooks rather than inside it, so air and ambient sound keep flowing. In practice that means you can hear a car approaching on a run, catch a subway announcement, or answer someone without pulling anything out of your ear. For anyone who has ever felt uneasy wearing sealed earbuds while cycling or walking near traffic, that awareness is the whole point of this design.
Who should buy it: runners, gym-goers, cyclists and commuters who value situational awareness and long battery life, and anyone who finds in-ear tips uncomfortable, sweaty or prone to irritation. It pairs over Bluetooth with a 25-meter range and supports multipoint, so you can stay connected to more than one device.
Who should skip it: if you fly a lot or train in a noisy gym and want the world muffled, this isn't that product. There's no noise cancelling here, and the open design deliberately lets sound in — that's a feature for some buyers and a dealbreaker for others. If you want the deepest possible bass isolation, sealed in-ears will beat it.
Tyxmere 5.3: Who It's For
The Tyxmere 5.3 takes the opposite approach. It's a neckband headphone in Bright Black with retractable earbuds: the band rests on your neck, and you pull each cord out to the length you want, then let it snap back when you're done. Tyxmere says the retract system was upgraded in 2026 and the wire can be pulled in and out more than 5,000 times, which speaks to the main wear point on this style of headphone. At about 1.5 oz, the band is light enough to forget you're wearing it between calls.
Audio and calls are handled by CVC 8.0 noise cancelling, which filters background noise so voices come through clearly on both ends of a call. It connects over Bluetooth with a 33 ft range and can hold two devices at once, so switching between a phone and a laptop is realistic. The battery is a 180 mAh cell rated for up to 16 hours of talk time, 20 hours of music and 240 hours of standby, with a full charge in around 1.5 hours. It's IPX5 sweatproof, and it vibrates when a call comes in — genuinely useful if the earbuds are retracted and you'd otherwise miss the ring.
Who should buy it: people who live on calls, work in offices or on the move, and want a headset that hangs around the neck ready to go. Runners and hikers who prefer a cord they can shorten to avoid snags will also like the retractable design. The vibration alert and dual-device pairing make it a practical conference and commute tool.
Who should skip it: if you want one charge to last you a week of workouts, the Hendari's playtime is in a different league. And if you dislike things in your ear canal, the sealed in-ear tips here are the opposite of the Hendari's open fit.
• Best for battery life → Hendari Open Ear. Up to 75 hours total with the case versus up to 20 hours of music on the Tyxmere.
• Best for situational awareness → Hendari Open Ear. The open-ear design keeps traffic, announcements and conversation audible.
• Best for phone calls → Tyxmere 5.3. CVC 8.0 noise cancelling, a dedicated mic setup and vibration alerts are aimed squarely at talk time.
• Best for all-day comfort around the neck → Tyxmere 5.3. The 1.5 oz neckband with retractable cords is designed to be worn between uses.
• Best for gym and outdoor sweat → a tie on water resistance. Both are IPX5, so both handle sweat and splashes, but the Hendari's open fit stays cooler during hard sessions.
• Best for noise isolation → Tyxmere 5.3. Sealed in-ear tips physically block more outside sound; the Hendari does the opposite by design.
• Best for charging convenience → Hendari Open Ear. The LED display case shows remaining power, so you always know where you stand.
• Best for multi-device switching → a tie. The Hendari supports multipoint, and the Tyxmere connects to two devices at once.
In my opinion, the Hendari Open Ear is the better buy for most people comparing these two. The combination of open-ear awareness, IPX5 protection and up to 75 hours of total playtime covers the widest range of real days — runs, commutes, gym sessions and long weeks between charges. The Tyxmere 5.3 is a genuinely good neckband and I'd recommend it specifically to heavy callers who want CVC 8.0 noise cancelling and a retractable cord, but its shorter battery and sealed fit make it the narrower pick. If your priority is knowing what's happening around you while you listen, go Hendari.
For running, the Hendari's open-ear fit and IPX5 rating make it the stronger choice because you stay aware of traffic and don't get the sweaty, sealed feeling of in-ear tips. The Tyxmere is also IPX5 sweatproof, so it's fine for exercise too — it just blocks outside sound instead of letting it in.
The Tyxmere 5.3 has CVC 8.0 noise cancelling, which is aimed at filtering background noise during calls. The Hendari Open Ear has no noise control at all — its open design deliberately lets ambient sound through. If quiet is your goal, the Tyxmere is the one.
Hendari rates the Open Ear at roughly 10 hours per charge and up to 75 hours total with the charging case. Tyxmere rates the 5.3 at up to 20 hours of music, 16 hours of talk and 240 hours of standby, with about 1.5 hours to full charge.
I'd point you to the Tyxmere 5.3. Between the CVC 8.0 noise cancelling, the built-in mic and the vibration alert for incoming calls, it's clearly designed around voice use. Check the current price on Amazon before deciding, since both are budget-friendly categories.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
When you buy through links on this page, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon or its affiliates. This site is an independent third-party review and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon or the product brands mentioned.
See also: Snakebyte Head Set S vs Avantree AH6B, Sennheiser IE 40 vs M-VAVE 2.4GHz: Studio Monitor Headphones, Linsoul KZ AS16 vs Fenge 42.5-Inch, Amazon Renewed Powerbeats3 vs Back Bay Audio Runner